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Dirk Nowitzki has just passed Wilt Chamberlain to move up into 15th place in all time free throws made. Dirk has now made 6,064 free throws while attempting 6,916 freebies, shooting 87.7% through his career from the line. In contrast, Wilt attempted 11,862 free throws. Had he shot at Dirk’s percentage, he would have made 10402 free throws, which would have had him in first place in the list of all time free throws made. Karl Malone is the all time number one with 9,787.
Of the players playing in the NBA currently, there are only four players in the all time top-25 in free throws made. Kobe Bryant is the third all time, with 8,531 freebies made. If he plays for two or three more seasons and gets to the line aggressively, then he can cross Malone to be number one. Paul Pierce is number 12 with 6,327 made. He can climb up to 11th all time in a few games by overtaking Charles Barkley, who made 6,349. Allen Iverson stands at 10th all time with 6,375 made. Slim chances, but if he comes back to the league, then he can climb his way up still. The next active player on the list is Dirk, as mentioned above, followed by Tim Duncan, who is 26th with 5,242 made.
Dirk also has the record for the most consecutive free throws made in the playoffs, with 24.
Taking a look at the top 25 list, there are a lot more frontcourt players on it than backcourt ones. Four players in the top 5 have attempted more than 10,000 free throws in Karl Malone (13,188), Moses Malone (11,090), Wilt Chamberlain (11,862), and Shaq uille O’Neal (11,252). Both Wilt and Shaq shot below 52% from the line. Both Karl and Moses Malone shot above 74% and are in the top two in free throws made. One reason behind the Kobe-Shaq feud was that Kobe felt that Shaq wasn’t working hard enough on his game and conditioning. Bryant had a point, as the Big Aristotle was regularly out of shape and a notoriously poor free throw shooter.
These days, backcourt players get to the line a lot more. With the elimination of hand-checking rules, one may think that it would lead to fewer free throws, as players wouldn’t impede the movements of others as much. In contrast, it allows guards to dribble their way to the rim with more ease, and once there they can draw contact and get to the line. Pierce and Kobe are masters at drawing contact by ripping through on shot fakes, among other ways. Dirk and Duncan are both threats from the outside, and that forces defenses to play them tight, allowing them to draw contact.
Both Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce can make their way in the top 10 all time free throws made. Dirk certainly has the confidence and ability to get higher:
